In early
2004, BBC-TV opted to produce three one-hour news documentaries
focusing on Elton John, Michael Jackson, and U2's Bono, to beam at
year's end. Multiple camera crews crossed the Pond to knock on the door
of tinsel-town public relations executive Norman Winter, once assured
by producer Sarah Hey that his former clients would not become subjects
of tell-all smearfests. The founder and prime mover of Norman
Winter/Associates (NW/A) played a major role in the careers of both
Elton and Michael, boosting each to stratospheric success. Two out of
three segments ain't bad when you're talking about a triumvirate of
icons that helped define the last thirty years of popular music. But
there's more — much more — and the road to Winter's present is paved
with success stories large and small.

Bassist Dee
Murray, Da Man, Reginald Dwight

The beginning

Norman
Winter, heeding the old adage "go west, young man," initially headed
from New York to Hollywood as a teen fanzine photographer. Lee Zhito,
former Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Billboard, advised he'd
make a "terrific" music publicist so Norm, trading on his caption
writing skills and gift of gab, tossed his hat into PR. A year or so
later Norman became a sought-after executive, eventually retained as
MCA/Universal Records' publicity chief. There he enjoyed notable
successes including the launch of Jesus Christ Superstar, the
album, and the American debut of Elton John, whose start in the UK had
led nowhere fast. These were stunning publicity achievements in every
sense of the word. The groundbreaking rock opera's 1970 intro was an
unusual assignment that led to a decades-long franchise built around
the funkified story of Jesus and that catapulted Andrew Lloyd Webber
and Tim Rice to their own superstardom. Elton John, co-writing with
lyricist Bernie Taupin, was also an oddity. A classically trained
pianist, Elton brought to the States the manic spirit of an outrageous
Looney Toon at his Troubadour bow.

Based on his past success and on the heels of a series of further PR
coups, Winter agreed to jump ship to establish his own diverse indie
PR/Marketing firm. He opened shop as chief tubthumper for his rising
superstar, (Elton) and — at the request of Universal Pictures
President, Ned Tanen — Norman Jewison's acclaimed film version of Jesus
Christ Superstar.

The office soon sought and grabbed other reel
entities, including the soundtrack music for American Graffiti.
Collaboration with British actress Joan Collins, aggressively touting
the wickedness she projected on the prime time soap, Dynasty,
ultimately won her a Golden Globe award. When music and motion pictures
wed, NW/A was already a key player in the genre. An ongoing
relationship with the superstar producing team of Kenny 'Babyface'
Edmonds and LA Reid led to a new consultancy with 'Face' to herald his
auspicious bow into celluloid for Waiting To Exhale — a strong
film that yielded a blockbuster CD.

The dude on the left was blushing when Michael entered the
room. Norm: "Mike, you look f***in' great!"

The King of Pop instantly countered, "YOU USED THE F-WORD!" Norm
turned beet red within minutes and got a chuckle from the performer

...enter Wally's World...and MJ, too

Norm was retained by CBS Records
Group (Columbia, Epic) for some six years, reporting exclusively to
then-chairman Walter Yetnikoff. A close confidant to the industry's
'king of the grooves,' Winter spearheaded special projects on behalf of
major artists, including Michael Jackson, with whom he would develop a
long term relationship. Although Jackson's initial solo disc Off
the Wall went multiple platinum, the artist justifiably felt that he
was not gaining appropriate publicity saturation. Yetnikoff assigned
Winter to the task. The association prospered and evolved into a
long-term arrangement (with Jackson picking up the tab), highlighted by Thriller,
dubbed by The Guinness Book Of World Records as the
biggest-selling album in history! The legendary Victory Tour, Jackson's
acquisition of the Beatles' catalog and his lucrative Pepsi endorsement
were other milestones during that period. Norm joined Michael at the
White House, where Ronald Reagan honored the star for allowing "Beat
It" to be performed on a public-service TV spot against drunk driving.
Coordinating media, Norm also wrote text for the President's speech. The
event marked the first time that MTV News had gained press credentials
to attend a Rose Garden reception. The music station's John Sykes (now
chairman of VH1) strongly recalls their warm welcome. When Yetnikoff
broached the idea of selling CBS Records Division to Sony Corp., Norman
attended Hawaiian confabs between Yetnikoff and Norio Ohga, firm's
President's/CEO, that ultimately brought about the CBS Group's
acquisition by the Japanese.

As a member of the Honorary
Advisory Committee of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Winter worked fêtes for screen legends Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia
Loren, and Tony Curtis. NW/A also helmed indie PR for the American
Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) for its annual
Pop, Motion Picture/TV, and R&B Music Awards presentations as well
as annual events honoring such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Smokey
Robinson, Dick Clark, George Michael, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Fred
Astaire and Quincy Jones.

Among NW/A's roster of corporate clients have been Virgin Records (Noo
Trybe), The Scotch Magnetic Tape Division of 3M, The Lincoln Mint,
ASCAP, Warner/Chappell, CBS Songs, and Windswept Pacific Holdings.
Billboard Publications selected the office to publicize the magazine's
International Music Industry Conferences (IMIC) in Washington, DC,
Venice, and Monte Carlo. Billboard also retained NW/A to publicize
their annual song contest.

In
addition to presiding over the legendary Victory Tour for Michael, NW/A
has coordinated concert gigs for such artists as Neil Diamond, AC/DC,
Barry White, Bob Dylan/Tom Petty, a four-year series of huge
outings for Elton John, the national club MTV caravan, and Marvin Gaye's final concert tour, "Sexual Healing."

The gang's all here, including Jennifer Winter, Dre,
Janet, Eazy, and Michel'le

Rap, hip-hop, and more

The PR
firm has delivered both traditional and 'street' press for 'bad boy'
performers like NWA's late Eazy-E, Dr Dre and Bangin' On Wax (the Bloods & Crips collaboration), as well as
Domino, Bone Thugs - N - Harmony and Eddie Griffin. Of Eazy-E,
Norm recalls, "it was easy to like Eazy. Even though I'd joined the
Death Row label following a tenure with Eazy's Ruthless Records and
enjoyed rapport with Suge Knight and Dr. Dre, when Eazy (Eric Wright)
was in ICU at Cedars Sinai his lady, Tomica, asked me to handle media
as he lay dying from AIDS." Winter graciously accepted, then handled a
serious outpouring from fans at First AME 's memorial service.
Coincident with the explosion of the Latin Music Industry, NW/A has
periodically taken on projects for such notables as Emmanuel, Lucia
Mendez, Chichi Peralta, and The Golden Eagle Awards, among others.

In
the book field, NW/A introduced Fit for Life, a nutritional
health bible, that emerged as the top-selling general interest book of
all time, holding the top spot on The New York Times bestseller
list for more than a year.

Further broadening the organization's portfolio, NW/A began serving the
lodgings industry when Wayne Newton — whose patronage of the firm
extended across several other newsworthy events — acquired the Aladdin
Hotel in Las Vegas. Performers who graced the Aladdin's main stage for
its gala reopening included Tanya Tucker, Glen Campbell, and Frank
Sinatra. A few years back, when the Riviera launched the long-lost
Marilyn Monroe collection, NW/A delivered vast TV and print coverage
for the long gone icon's new clothing line. The hotel's convention
facility was filled to capacity with a special New Year's package that
revolved around a week long showing of newly discovered Marilyn art,
attracting major players and celebrities to the casino. — H.H.